Bertrand crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Chantell’s father, who looked like a bear frothing at the mouth. “You’re not gonna punch me because I’ll knock you on your ass before you get a chance. I won’t allow this and that’s final.”
Suddenly Tanner’s father turned away, his face crumbling in a moment of grief so poignant, Chantell could almost feel it.What the hell?
Turning back to the group, he dropped his arms from his chest. His fists were clenched as he stared at Tanner. “Trust me, son. I’m only looking out for you.” His gaze went back to Walter, but his voice was much calmer. “Bertrand, we’ve been friends for too many years to count. You’re one of the best men I know. Even with all my bullshit, you’ve been a good friend to me. But I gotta tell you how I feel. Your girl’s gonna break my son’s heart. She’s gonna rip him apart and he’ll be left with nothing. He’ll be a shell of a man. I won’t let him go through that. She’s no good for him.” As he spoke, Mr. Scott became more animated and angrier. “So, if you still wanna go at me, then let’s do this right here. I’m not changing my mind, so fine. Let’s go right now.” He’d moved into a boxing stance and started moving his fists around as if getting his range of motion.
From the corner of her eye, Chantell saw her father began to swing his arms back and forth. He lifted legs as if limbering up. “You keep on insulting my daughter, you’re gonna get put on your ass. I don’t care how long we’ve been friends. My daughter is the best woman your son could ever be blessed to find. But keep on talking shit, because you’re about to get a damn reckoning.”
Chantell couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. If these old men preening around like they were still in their prime wasn’t so damn funny, it would be sad. That it was both their father’s acting this way was surprising, to say the least.
“I can’t believe you, Bertrand. You too, Walter. I swear to God if you two don’t stop all that hootin’ and hollerin’, I’m never going to forgive you. You both look like damn fools acting like this in front of our children,” Mrs. Scott called out. “Now sit down and stop all that blustering.” She waited until Bertrand sat down in one chair, while Roberta had Chantell’s father sit in another chair across the room.
Chantell looked around the room and found Tanner leaning up against the wall, his arms folded in front of him. Instead of being affected by the two old bulls going toe-to-toe in his parents’ home, he looked bored. “Are you two done yet?” Tanner’s eyes snapped fire. She could tell he was pissed.
Once they were both seated in their respective corners, Sophia turned to her husband. “Bertrand, now you listen to me and listen good. You may think I don’t know about Cora and what happened, but I do. I know why you don’t want these two together, even if you can’t admit it.”
“Mom, you need to explain that last statement. Who is Cora and what the hell does she have to do with me and Chantell?”
“Wait a minute. My cousin Cora?” Chantell heard her mother’s voice speak up in the silence, getting everyone’s attention.
Chantell walked over to Tanner and grabbed his hand in hers. “Okay, now I really want to know what we’re missing.” She was getting worried. If there was some huge family secret about to be exposed, she didn’t want any parts of it. “You know what, I don’t think I want to hear this,” she said. Tanner pulled her body in front of his before wrapping his arms around her.
He shrugged before leaning down to kiss her on the temple. “No matter what, sweetheart. We’re in this together. No one else matters.”
Nodding, she leaned up to kiss him softly before resting back against Tanner as they watched their parents.
A loud sigh came from Tanner’s mom. “Bertrand, it’s not my story to tell, but I’ll do it if you force my hand. I won’t have you standing in the way of your son’s happiness any longer. He’s loved this girl since he was a young boy. I won’t let you do this to him. Do you hear me?”
Although Bertrand turned around to face the group, he hadn’t said a word since his wife began speaking. He sighed deeply, took a few seconds, and then Mr. Scott began speaking.
“Cora was my first love.” Loud gasps could be heard in the room. Even Tanner stood a little straighter. “Back then, relationships between…well, like the two of you,” he nodded at Tanner and Chantell, “they were forbidden. Not illegal at the time, but close enough. No one knew about us until it was too late.”
Her mom broke away from her spot near Chantell’s father and walked over to Bertrand. “She died when I was fifteen. Something about being in the family way and a botched... a botched…” Her eyes went wide. “Oh, God. No,” she paused as tears began streaming down her face. “You were the father of her child? The boyfriend no one in the family knew about.”
Nodding his head, he took a deep breath. “For years after she died, I was broken. Angry. This world forced her to make a decision that no woman should have to make. She felt there was no other choice but to… do what she had to do. For me. For her. For us. She wanted to give us time. Give the world time to accept us. Time was never something we had. Then she was taken from me.” His voice hitched with a painful sound before he looked over at his wife of almost thirty years and his only child. Glancing back at Chantell’s parents, Bertrand’s hands came up in an almost pleading motion.
“You have to believe me. I would have accepted our baby. I would have married her and moved the hell out of this town, but we never got a chance. I know she was afraid for me, for her, and the judgment that would come our way.”
Sad eyes turned to Sophia, the woman he’d tried his damndest to love with everything that hadn’t been broken and torn apart when Cora died. Then he looked at his only child.
“Tanner, I love your momma. Have loved her as best I could for thirty years. But a long time ago, I was in your shoes, and the world was not kind to me. I saw the way you looked at Chantell. I knew she was your Cora, and I tried to protect you. I didn’t want you to go through what I went through.”
“Well, damn,” she heard her father whisper as he leaned back hard in his chair. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
Peeling away from the wall, Tanner walked over to his father. “Dad, I’m sorry you went through something like that. I can’t imagine how you feel, and I never want to go through that. I won’t. This world is different now but in some ways, it’s still the same. There’s still hatred out there and people who won’t understand why I love Chantell. She’s my rib. The woman God made for me. I can’t let her go. I won’t. She’s everything to me and I need her like I need the air to breathe. Your attempts to protect me from perceived heartbreak only succeeded in making us stronger. I won’t hide from this town, even if it’s to protect your reputation.”
“Son, I know it may have seemed that way, but you have to trust me on this. It was never about my reputation. This small-minded town doesn’t own me.” Shaking his head, he lifted his gaze to the people in the room. “Damn. I’m a fool.”
“Yes, you are.” Sophia Scott said before walking over to her husband. “But you’ve finally spoken the words you’d been holding in for too damn long.”
With a sheepish look on his face and a slight smile, he looked at everyone standing in the room. “You’ll have to forgive this stubborn old man for his foolish ways.” Tanner nodded as he leaned in, giving his father a hug.
“Just don’t try that shit again, Dad. You have no idea the hell I’ve gone through to keep this woman by my side. Plus, I need her to not be so angry anymore. Have you ever been around an angry pregnant woman?” He shuddered in mock fear. “That shit is scary.”
Everyone laughed because they each had their own similar memories.
Turning his tortured gaze to her, Tanner’s father reached out a hand. “Chantell, I’m sorry. I never should have interfered in my son’s life. The two of you came together as children and have lasted all these years, despite my boorish behavior. You didn’t deserve what I did.”
Smiling, she walked across the room and stood in front of him. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his bulky frame, hugging him tightly. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized Mr. Scott had just been a man heartbroken over his first love. A woman who was taken from him too soon by a world that wouldn’t accept their love. “Just promise to dote on your grandchild and start a college fund and all is forgiven. Oh and no more trying to get Tanner married off to another woman. Sorry, but he’s mine. I don’t intend to let him go and you can’t have him back.”